A wide variety of content is available in digital form over packet-switched networks such as the Internet, Local Area Networks (LAN), Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), and the like. Such content may include, for example, audio-visual content or audio content, such as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) programs, Internet Video, Internet Radio programs, online jukeboxes, and Video-on Demand.
In many cases, the content may be deemed inappropriate or undesirable for certain audiences. For example, certain content may be inappropriate for viewing by children. Further, some content may be considered undesirable for viewing in an office environment. Presently, it is often either cumbersome or impossible to control access to a given type of content.
Some of the traditional technologies used to control access to content include cryptographic and authentication techniques. However, with these technologies, the access-restriction may not necessarily be based on the type of content.
Conventional technologies for content-based access restriction may include age-based restriction. For example, cable televisions may be programmed to block/restrict content based on certain ratings that are governed by a viewer's age. The ratings are provided to guide the viewers about the type of content.
Further, some restriction/blocking systems may provide age-based restriction for content that is delivered through packet-switched networks. For example, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service providers provide a dedicated set top box connected to the TV. The set top box decodes the picture encoding of information for the video and restricts the access. Other systems put the restriction/control information into the guide data and the set top box deals with the access control. However, the set top box is prone to tampering and is less reliable. Also, in these systems, the inappropriate content is blocked or restricted at the set top box.